Philthyphil

6 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

Truly an ignorant post. Apparently, you find sexual assaults amusing. Is this because you need to justify past behaviour or you just view it as an issue to be laughed at?  No  emotionally stable, healthy woman, let alone a "girl" , pursues an elderly pensioner like you.

 

Your reasoning is assinine. Chucking out a statement that "Majority rules" is laughable. You are a US national and you  post that statement?  Majority does not rule.  It does not apply in Thailand and it sure as he11 doesn't apply in your own homeland. (Remember, Clinton won a majority of votes, and note that the US Constitution protects minority civil rights, so majority cannot rule.)

 

Yes, many of us have been up country. It is not crazy in the small villages where peoples' parents and grandparents are present. The stupidity of Songkran  is primarily a characteristic of large cities and especially of tourist zones, where deviants congregate. The objections people have to the impolite excesses relate to the most egregious physical assaults one sees in the big cities and tourist zones.

 

I would expect someone like you with your precarious physical condition would be more appreciative of the objections  both Thais and  Foreign guests have.

Er, I am not American.

Yes I enjoy being touched up at songkran. I don't ask for it, but dont object to it. Why would i? I realize it is all just a bit of fun. 

No, I don't assault women as you are saying.

i am not an old aged pensioner. I am not old enough to qualify and am anti welfare anyway, so wouldn't apply anyway.

I will grant you the fact that most of the times I have been sexually assaulted it was not in the village, but in the muang. But by village girls, they just don't act up like that in their home villages because of gossip. And by a small minority, but there is always one in every group.

i think you have me mixed up with another poster as I also don't have a precarious physical condition either, whatever that is.

3 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Actually majority doesn't always rule.  A minority also has to be treated with respect. During the years when few foreigners participated- Thais did not randomly assume you wanted to be doused- they asked if you wanted to 'play'.  It is the influx of foreigners who have changed the way the celebration has developed. Thais are still very polite. Many foreigners are drunk; can't hold their alcohol and are overly aggressive.

You do realise that at the vast majority of songkran celebrations there are NO or at least very, very few foreigners.

Only the tourist hot spots have foreigners.

i think you are overrating our "importance" to the vast majority of Thais. We are not a factor.

i do agree with you though that where there are foreigners, you get many that don't get it.

Go upcountry and you will see. Hardly a foreigner in sight, but the Thais still party hard, but beware of being sexually assaulted by curious Thai women.

2 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

I don't blame Songkran for everything at all but after seeing almost 50 of them I can give a perspective that many people cannot and I guarantee you that many foreigners and many Thais do not like the way Songkran is currently celebrated.

I can avoid it if I want, some people cannot and do not want to participate because they have other things going in their life. My issue with the current Songkran is the fact that there is no respect for those who decline to participate. You want to have some fun go ahead but if someone else is not interested- your dousing of them is not fun for them. Anything wrong with a little respect being shown?

I reckon a slight majority of tv posters don't like songkran.

i reckon a small minority of tourists don't like it. Many come especially for it.

And a tiny minority of Thais complain about it. Usually just to agree with the complaining Farang.

Majority rules.

sawadee bpee Mai tai krab

2 hours ago, Wilsonandson said:

Where is this? Any details?

 

The video of the accident on post #2 by Sphere.

 It was uploaded to,YouTube yesterday. 

So probably recent.

52 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Actually I was there and I will stick with my original post-  It used to be one day of water throwing in all locales because Thais realized water was precious.  It certainly wasn't Pattaya because that area did not have many tourists 40 years ago when I was there. I can tell you on many occassions very recently I have personaly witness- chunks of ice and huge amounts of water dumped on motocyclists who then fell over while the 'revellers' cheered.  The festival 40 years ago - did nt have such cruelty= it just consisted in getting wet- if you wanted to participate and nothing wrong with that. People then were kinder and polite and you notice in the pictures there are no foreigners- acting out- and disturbing the flow.

Urban myth- I know not- the real urban myth are those who refuse to believe Songkran has developed into a raucous spectacle where even assault and sexual harrassment goes on. 

I will grant you the sexual assaults.

In Pattaya I get assaulted quite often.

But those girls up in Issan, they take the sexual assaults on me to another level.

Assaults are very rare for such an alcohol,fueled day where everyone is shooting each other. You see more assaults at Engglish football games.

I disagree with you that there were few tourists in Pattaya 40 years ago. I was there 39 years ago, and there were plenty of us. Same year Tahitian Queen opened and from memory, the Royal Cliff.

1 hour ago, Wilsonandson said:

Where is this? Any details?

 

The video of the accident on post #2 by Sphere.

On motorway 7.

From what the man said, near Sri racha, I think.

I don't know when. 

Doubt if it is Songkran related. Songkran haters will blame songkran for everything.

Happy New Year Thai!

No…the Thais are effectively demanding the right to continue killing themselves.

No, they are not saying that at all. People die in car accidents in England every day. They are not demanding the right to kill themselves either. Millions of people are transported this way everyday with the vast majority living. 

The thais have just rejected a nanny state law, which like all nanny state laws inconvenience the majority, to protect a minute minority.

Good luck with that – most Thais of my acquaintance wouldn’t dream of planning for anything more than the next meal.

You only have one acquaintance?  Have you mentioned this to the owner of the Nation who you work for? Maybe you need to find another acquaintance. 

If they really do want to stop the mayhem on the roads they need to start informative commecials on driving...

They do. Have been for years. Maybe you have missed them. Maybe you don't have a clue what you are talking about. Maybe you need to find another acquaintance. I will post a few for you. With English subtitles. I assume from your weekly anti Thai rant that you haven't bothered to learn the language.

Dont let any facts get in the way of your anti Thai rant. Maybe a bit research before making these assertions wouldn't go astray.

No…once again they are obsessed with the lady boys who turn up in droves and dresses to tell reporters they have come over all queer with the excitement of it all.

Before they are rejected, despite usually still having a smallish portion of meat and two veg.

Childish comments regarding gays and genital size. Yawn.

Despite this anti thaimsentiment you harbor I see you live in Thailand and have actually paid a dowry to marry a Thai women.

From Loei.

I hope you understand how the sin sod system works and didn't pay too much.

You dish it out, but can you take it?

38 minutes ago, Ijustcashier said:

No drug tests because bus drivers have no money.

Plenty drug tests on night clubs because can get big extortion from a busted tourist

Rubbish. Far more Thais are drug tested than Farang.

IN amata Nakhon the cops set up road side drug testing everyday.

I (farang) am waved through everytime. They really don't care about us. Most of the drug testing in Pattaya also targets the Thai pubs and Thai customers.

The road side piss tests only seem to target males, which is a bit unfair.

You sound paranoid. 

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

Speed is mostly to blame for Songkran deaths but throwing water and ice at motorcyclists and at cars and trucks causes death and destruction. anyone with any sense knows this type of activity must be stopped. In addition, pick up trucks with water drums on the back are also an accident waiting to happen and should also be banned.

Songkran is not fun when people are dying and entering hospitals because of selfish revelers that have no sense.

It really used to be a sensible and fun time many years ago when people could control themselves and live in the real spirit of the festival. Now, it is just the opposite- an excuse to cause harm to those who do not want to participate.

41 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Your first paragraph is pure urban myth. Or in other words TVF BS. 

I'm talking about water and cold water thrown at passing bikes and cars.  Not speeding. 

It wasn't just the first paragraph.

"it really use to be a sensible and fun time many years ago"

He imagined that, he wasn't here.

Another TV often repeated complete MYTH.

19 minutes ago, doctormann said:

 

The death clock, of course, doesn't include anything outside of the 'seven dangerous days'.  In Pattaya, the mayhem will start tomorrow and continue until the evening of the 19th so that's ten days and people will still be travelling back to their normal locations after that.

The mayhem as you describe it, or the fun as most people describe it in Pattaya doesn't have anything to do with the video clip.

It was on a motorway, 7 they were not playing with water. They were speeding as they always do, everyday of the year. I use this road at least twice a week, and accidents are common, really frequent, speeding and tail gating pickups, and benzes and beemers being the worst. Most accidents are in the fast lane

The man who took the video mentioned that the emergency vehicles couldn't get through. Because the traffic was blocking them. In Thailand it seems the emergency lanes are for everyone to use in an emergency, not just the emergency vehicles.

It is the bad driving that causes the deaths, not splashing water from water pistols.

How old is that video?

On April 7, 2560 BE at 0:45 PM, JSixpack said:

 

Not for 10 days they don't. Nor are they "quality" tourists spending much where it counts. No idiot Songran hooligan is staying at the Hilton and eating at Mantra.

 

After all, many businesses lose money from the start; most residents—and many if not most would-be tourists—hate to endure such a long duration.

Many tourists, particularly throngs of Chinese visitors, went straight to Bali Hai Pier to catch ferries to peaceful Koh Larn while many westerners and families stayed at their busy hotels. Expats and long-term visitors simply left Thailand for neighboring countries.

Water wars leave beach vendors high and dry

So it must be that businesses and powerful individuals who do financially benefit are behind the permitting its extraordinary duration in Pattaya.

You are contradicting yourself in one post. 

Mantra and the Hilton are not owned by small Thai business people. 

Heaps of people cash in on Songkran, selling drinks, food, powder, water pistols to the tens of thousands people enjoying it. A good oppurtunity for the poorer Thais to earn a baht if they have a bit of dash. 

Plus all the cheaper hotels are booked out this month. For them it IS the high season.

Who cares about the Hilton? They arrived here only a few years ago, they knew what  Pattaya was all about, towering over Soi 8 etc

On April 2, 2560 BE at 9:10 AM, the guest said:

Prime education is the key to solving a lot of Thailand's problems. Unfortunately the country refuses to accept standards are low, so very little is expected to change in the near future.

It also has to do with how corrupt the local tetsabaan is.

They all have a budget, it just depends how much is pocketed.

Some, but not many, amphuers are quite clean. 

If you come to Pattaya by road you see piles of stinking rotting burning rubbish.

If you come by boat, you travel through raw sewerage.

If you come by train you don't miss out either.

Welcome to Pattaya, this is Pattaya Train Station. 

The position of the way this rubbish has been dumped I suspect the railway staff actually dumped it. Passengers don't carry big piles of garbage on the train with them.

On May 14, 2559 BE at 2:52 PM, ChrisKC said:

For the benefit of those who believe the farang is always to blame:

I have been involved in only one incident in 13 years. I was stationary on the side of the road having stopped to use my mobile phone. After a few minutes I heard something clunk my car and felt a jolt not dissimilar from having left my car in gear and releasing the pedal. I couldn't immediately see anything but on trying to open my car door saw a motorcycle partially under my car with two young girls lying on the road, very close to the car and obviously injured (no crash helmets). This was on the Canal Road a few miles from Hang Dong so it wasn't long before a crowd gathered.

Someone called the police quickly and an ambulance (no, a songthaew) arrived as well. I learned that two Thai men had seen the incident and claimed I had turned out of a side road and the motorbike couldn't avoid me. This was an outright lie! I was lucky! A car, driven by another farang and his wife, saw what actually happened and stopped. Their evidence as witnesses, together with measurements of everything by the police exonerated us from blame! It turns out that the first rain of the season had created a very slippery road surface after many months build-up of small bits of tyre debris and oil. The motorbike had simply skidded in to the car.

One of the girls was in hospital for about ten days with head injuries but fortunately made a complete recovery. My wife and I visited the hospital a few times to show our obvious concern and this was appreciated by them! The father of one of them was all for wanting something financial from us but the Police waved him on!

Was that the end? No! two days after, we had a phone call from the Police Station to be "interviewed" When we arrived we were surprised that all they wanted was for US to sign a document that WE wouldn't sue them (the girls).

Nice to hear a real story. Much bette than the theories you referred to in your first sentence 

Feels like no one gives a sh...

44 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Officials also plan to spend 40 million baht on 96 new CCTV cameras.

 

40 million Baht % by 96= 416,666 Baht per CCTV camera  or 12,254 Dollars per camera...

Perhaps the money would be spent on a garbage dump. The last one closed down four years ago. 

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya-ordered-solve-decade-long-trash-crisis-165441

IMO it is much more urgent than wasting that sort of money on CCTVs that won't be maintained.

At 416,666 baht for cameras that can be bought for 1,000 it makes me wonder how much cream will be creamed off this Bali hai upgrade and who will it go to, and then what about these submarines.

hww much cream was there creamed off the Pattaya tunnel?

Pattaya City, where the sewerage goes on to the beach because the sewerage plant has broken down and where they can't remove the piles of garbage off the sois because for the last four years they haven't had a garbage dump to put it in!!!!

http://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya-ordered-solve-decade-long-trash-crisis-165441

It is getting worse by the hour, people are dumping rubbish all over town and raw sewerage is flowing into the sea.

They would have known about the rats before the photo was leaked. Just acting now because they got exposed.

My biggest issue in tHailand is the piles of garbage that are all over the country. I was hoping the new military government might get around to fixing this. I always think to myself "are the local authorities blind?"

So I was disappointed to read that even government headquarters has "lots of garbage around"' and as a result is vermin infested. 

if they don't see it or care about it, what hope have I got about ever living in a garbage free Thailand? 

It just doesn't worry them. Even at the very top!

7 hours ago, dabhand said:

I noticed this in the news article:

Officials also plan to spend 40 million baht on 96 new CCTV cameras.

Here we go again. Wasn't that long ago that they were spending Bt60m on 200 cameras. The CCTV business in Thailand looks like a nice little earner.

 

Plus, the 800lb gorilla seems to have been ignored. Maybe they are planning to hire David Copperfield so that he can make The Waterfront disappear for a couple of days.

 Am not kidding I bought one the other day for one thousand baht. Full color, full sound, you can control it with an iPad or smart phone. 

I think it was another 200 for a memory stick. 

What a rort. 30 million would fix Pattayas broken down sewerage plant.

1 hour ago, roo860 said:

 

 

I know the guy quite well, went to his wedding long time ago in Hua Hin, I've not been back there for over 4yrs, still keep in touch with mutual friends there, not one of them ever brought up the actions he took with the girl. By the way he is a big lad, 6ft and we'll built. I reckon he was embarrassed about getting a thumping from the little guy, he needed a bit of dental work.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

Well one thing we all agree on is the Thais are tough little buggers.

Your big mate cleaned up by a little guy, and the little girl he slammed into the concrete got straight up. 

The son struggled to get up and was down for longer after he tripped over his mother!

Then all the Owens went down in a heap. Mumma Owen I actually rate the toughest in that family. She got the best hit in and kept getting up until that final brutal kick finally floored her. I bet she has a few brawling stories to tell, looks like she has been around. I am tipping the son would have copped a bit as a child from her. She was certainly quick to resort to violence. 

I actually feel a bit sorry for your mate, like the little girl he slammed, he was only trying to stop all the trouble caused by the Owens.

5 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Why not scuba dive right off Pattaya beach?

I am not sure. Maybe the plastic bags? Maybe the turds? 

Perhaps the visabilty of barely a foot caused by the raw sewerage pouring in from numerous points might be the problem. 

1 hour ago, petermik said:

Firstly I hope they have enough staff to deal with it,and secondly will anyone act on any complaints

No

and no. But they will pretend to.

If you complain about the piles of stinking garbage, they won't actually clean it up, but instead erect a sign saying that anyone dumping garbage will be fined 2000 baht. Eventually the said sign will blow over and become part of the garbage heap.

If you complain about sewerage leaking at a beach, they will then divert that sewerage to the broken down sewerage plant in Nongyai which leaks.

etc etc etc 

200 million to tart up the pier for the military.

i wonder if they could spare a lazy 30 to fix the dis functioning, leaking  Nongyai sewerage plant? All those expensive military boats will be bobbing up and down in krap if they don't.

Is it just me, or are other people getting sick of this sh1t?

All they have done here is send the problem somewhere else.

Will this sewerage then be added to all the other sewerage at Eddis favorite beach?